This was a super cute book about Columbus reaching the new world and what he found there. We had a good time reading about the people and structures and even gods of the Americas at that time.

Activity:
1. We decorated banderas. I had moms pick in advance the country their kids would like to represent and then we had full-color flags to glue feathers, beads, noodles, pipe cleaners and tissue paper to using the pre-Columbian setting from storytime as our inspiration!

Lyrics in both English and Spanish are found here, as well as a sound file you can play on your computer.

We actually played the José-Luis Orozco version at the playgroup though, it's from his cd "Diez Deditos". In English it's "My Aunt Monica" and it's a cute song about how a child's aunt moves different body parts when she dances.

2. We made caribbean congo-style drums with plastic circles cut from a blue kiddie pool and some sturdy plastic cups. We used rubber bands to attach the plastic and then decorated them with stickers and paper. I got this idea from Handy Manny's Hispanic Heritage Month Party page.

After that we drummed along to a song called "Debajo del Botón" on the same José-Luis Orozco cd. It has these great repetitions like, "Debajo del botón, ton, ton que encontró Martín, tin ,tin" and so on that are perfect for keeping rhythm with. I said "un, dos, tres" a few times to add extra emphasis as I drummed.

Transition to playtime song:Ahora vamos a jugar, a jugar, a jugar
Ahora vamos a jugar, a jugar, a jugar

Activities:
1. We crumpled up squares of tissue paper in red and yellow to represent las hojas and in white to represent la nieve and we threw them around the room and blew them around just like el viento does.

2.We made a tormenta with a spray bottle of water as la lluvia, the metal sheet from the front of my dishwasher to shake for trueno (thunder) and a cardboard representation of a nube (cloud) to wave to make viento. We also turned the lights off and on to represent relámpago (lightning).

Activities:
1. I brought a bin of dress up clothes and while the kids put on dress up items we talked about the different textures. There was a vest to dress up like a lion that was suave and a straw hat that was áspero. They also played with a helmet that was duro and also liso.

2. We set up a learning table where the kids touched ice cubes that were frío and rocks that were either liso or áspero. There was also sandpaper for the kids to touch.

3. We went around the room describing things we saw and, among other things, found a couch that was suave and a table that was liso and duro.

Songs:
I made this one up and sung it to a tune that was familiar to me. You could pick any tune that is familiar to you.

Me in a nutshell

Under One Techo | Under One Roof

I grew up an air-force brat, on bases and off bases, statewide and on foreign soil. Having lived in both Japan and Los Angeles (Little Mexico!), I have a love for both the Latin and Asian communities. But above all that lies a commitment to God, marriage, and family as the backbone of society. And with that, let the crazy, cultural mash-up begin..